


Three Times Danny Asked Steve to Dance

by Kitty514



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: A little angst, Dancing, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 13:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12037104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitty514/pseuds/Kitty514
Summary: And the one time Steve asked Danny to dance.





	Three Times Danny Asked Steve to Dance

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty new to Hawaii Five-0 (I'm only a little over halfway through the first season), so please excuse any mistakes I may have made. Thanks for reading!

1.

Steve was tired. 

Yes, Five-0 had managed to get a lot done today. And, yes, right now they were right on the tail of the man who’d killed three people in the past three months. In fact, the man was supposedly somewhere within this crowd of wealthy bodies, all mingling with one another as they donned their best suits and dresses. Steve unconsciously tugged at his own tie, feeling constricted by it. 

“No luck finding our perp yet,” Chin’s voice rang out in Steve’s ear. “He might be somewhere on the ballroom floor, though.” 

Steve subtly pressed his hand to his ear, where his mic was. “Understood. I’ll go check it out.” 

He made his way across the room, avoiding bumping into anyone or any of the tables filled with alcohol and food. He did, however, manage to bump right into Danny, who stumbled back a couple steps before Steve grabbed his arm to catch him. 

Danny regained his balance quickly and straightened out his suit jacket. “Thanks, man. You headed to the ballroom?” 

“Yeah, it’s the only place we haven’t been so far. At least that’s open to the public.” Steve started back on his path to the ballroom with Danny by his side. 

Danny let out a little bitter laugh, and Steve glanced at him before following his gaze. Across the room was a group of men comparing their checkbooks. 

“Geez, you ever seen anything like that before?” Danny said with disbelief as the men disappeared out of sight. “You’d think they’d be humble about their money at a fundraiser to help starving children.” 

“Apparently not,” Steve replied after stifling a yawn. They were at the edge of the ballroom floor now, watching people sway in time to the music that practically half an orchestra was playing up on a small stage. 

Danny moved swiftly in front of Steve and offered him his hand. “Wanna dance, babe?” 

“I want to catch this guy, then go home and sleep,” Steve said. He took Danny’s hand anyway, and Danny grinned at him as they stepped out onto the dance floor. 

“You shouldn’t have stayed up so late to finish all that paperwork,” Danny said, one hand on Steve’s shoulder and the other on his waist. “I told you to leave it until after we got this guy. What time did you get home last night, anyway?” 

Steve shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn’t remember, but Danny saw right through it. They probably spent too much time together if Danny could read Steve so easily. Not that Steve would change anything about their friendship. They were close, and he liked that. 

“Let me guess,” Danny goaded as they swayed together on the ballroom floor, observing the other couples. “Two a.m.? No, three. Oh, shit, seriously? Four in the morning?” 

“I didn’t even say anything,” Steve muttered. “You can’t prove that.” 

“Buddy, your face says it all.” 

“Stop that.” 

“Stop what?” 

“Stop knowing me so well.” Steve pointedly avoided Danny’s gaze as he looked out at all the people surrounding them. So far, no luck. Plus, it was a little hard to concentrate when he was so tired and Danny’s warm, reassuring hands were on him. 

Wait. No. Steve wasn’t going to think about that. Danny was his friend, and nothing more. 

Danny chuckled, bringing Steve back to reality. “No can do. I’m highly trained to spot when you’ve done or are about to do something stupid.” He paused. “Hey, I think I see our perp.” He spun them around so Steve stood where Danny had been. “Over my left shoulder, in the gray suit with the red tie.” 

Steve looked over Danny’s shoulder and spotted the man. “That’s him. It’s got to be. Come on, let’s catch this guy.” 

Steve and Danny broke apart as Danny gave Kono and Chin their location. Steve was already making his way over to the perp, watching the man’s back turned to him. Steve grabbed the man by the arm and spun him around without letting go. He showed the man his badge. 

“Mr. Barns, I’m Commander Steve McGarrett. You’re under arrest for the murders of Sandy and George Johnson and Maria Jones.” Steve handed the man over to Kono as she approached. 

As Kono handcuffed the man, Steve sought out Danny, who was telling everyone watching the scene unfold to stay calm. Steve placed a hand on the small of Danny’s back to get his attention. 

“So, I’m driving, right?” Steve asked with a straight face. 

“Uh, no, you’re not, mister I-don’t-have-any-self-preservation,” Danny said. “I’m driving. Period. End of argument. I won’t have you falling asleep at the wheel and crashing us into the ocean.” 

Steve tried to stifle a grin but failed. Danny saw it and shooed him away exaggeratedly. 

* * * * 

2\. 

“Do you know how to do the foxtrot?” 

Steve put the paper he was reading back down and looked up at Danny, who was perched up on one leg on the edge of his desk. “Do I know how to foxtrot?” 

“Yeah, that’s what I just asked.” Danny’s hanging leg started to swing lazily. 

Steve just stared at him until he clarified. 

Danny sighed. “Grace’s school is teaching them how to do all these different dances, and she asked me for some help. Only thing is I don’t know a lot of dances. Usually, I just sway in time to the music.” 

“Why don’t you look up a tutorial online?” Steve picked up his pen and scribbled a couple notes on the paper he had been reading so he wouldn’t forget them later. When he was done, Danny was still in his office, sitting on top of his desk, staring off into space dejectedly. 

Steve ran a hand across his face. “Fine, I’ll teach you. But you owe me dinner afterwards.” 

“Deal,” Danny chirped, brightening a significant amount. He stood up and offered his hand to Steve, one eyebrow raised. “May I have this dance?” 

“Do you do that every time you ask someone to dance?” Steve took Danny’s hand and let himself be pulled up. “Also, are we really doing this right now, here, in my office?” 

“We can do it out in our meeting-slash-planning things out area. Do we have an actual name for that room? The cool table-computer room maybe?” 

“I’d keep working on names if I were you.” Steve followed Danny out of his office, still going over the paper in his head. It seemed like they were the only ones here right now, which he was slightly grateful for. 

“Where’d you learn the foxtrot, anyway?” Danny asked, genuinely curious. 

Steve sighed. “My sister wanted to take a ballroom dance class when she was younger, but didn’t want to do it alone, so I signed up with her.” 

Danny was grinning widely at Steve. 

“What?” Steve said defensively. 

“That’s sweet.” Steve relaxed and let out a soft chuckle. “Not if you factor in me abandoning her to dance with a cute girl I saw in the class.” 

Danny laughed. “Dude, that’s cold.” 

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t always the most caring brother. Okay,” Steve began, changing the subject by grabbing both of Danny’s hands, “I’m leading, so put your right hand in my left and your left hand on my shoulder.” 

“Who decided you’re leading?” Danny asked, but put his hands where told, anyway. 

Steve didn’t grace him with a response. He held his left hand up in the air, angling his and Danny’s arms up a bit. His other hand landed gently on Danny’s upper back, keeping their bodies a good foot apart. 

“What, you’re not gonna get frisky on me?” Danny asked with a grin. 

“Do you want to learn this thing or not?” 

“Fine, fine. Continue on.” 

“Okay, so, you’ll be walking back as I walk forward. Bend your knees a bit, step back with your right foot, then left.” Steve took two slow steps forward in time with Danny. “Good. Now you’ll rise up onto your toes and take a step to the right. Step together and bend your knees again. That’s it.” 

Danny paused for a second. “That’s it? That’s all there is to it?” 

“Pretty much.” Steve let go of Danny and took a step back. “You just repeat those steps and move counterclockwise around the room.” 

“Hey, no,” Danny said, moving a step forward. “We were only going like one mile per hour. Let’s speed it up a bit so I get more practice.” 

Steve took another quick step back and Danny followed suit with another step forward. Steve stifled a smile as he and Danny continued stepping in time in a circle around the computer table. Before long, they were both laughing. Danny finally rushed forward and grabbed Steve’s shoulder and hand, pulling them close together. 

“You’re a jackass,” Danny said with a smile. 

Steve hummed out a response. He was trying, and altogether failing, to ignore the feeling of Danny’s body pressed up against his, the subtle scent of Danny’s cologne that was starting to make his head swim, the way Danny seemed to always have smiles reserved just for him. 

Danny was his partner. His _friend_. Steve refused to think of Danny any other way. So why was brain betraying him more and more often? 

Danny nudged Steve in the shoulder. “Hey, anybody there?” 

Steve nodded. “Yeah, just wondering when I should tell you that I accidentally scratched your car.” 

“You- I-” Danny made an outraged noise. “Please tell me you’re kidding.” 

Steve shot Danny a grin and took a step forward, and Danny quickly followed suit. “You know I’m kidding. I think I’d be more upset about your car getting damaged that you would.” 

“You’re a terrible man, you know it?” Danny quickly picked up the rhythm set by Steve. Soon, they were dancing slowly but smoothly across the floor. 

“You love me anyway.” 

“Yeah, I do love you, babe.” 

And if Steve’s heart skipped a beat then, he wouldn’t admit it. 

* * * *

3\. 

“I don’t like this.” 

“You don’t like anything.” 

Steve shot Danny a small glare. “Not true. I like not sitting around in clubs. I like solving crime. I like you.” 

Danny glanced up at Steve and gave him a weird look that he tried not to read too much into. “Well,” Danny said over the loud music, the odd look gone from his face, “instead of sitting in this club like a bunch of sad sacks, why don’t we dance?” 

Steve glanced out at the dance floor and the mass of people it held. He shook his head. “Not into it. Plus, we’re waiting for the drug dealers to get here.” He looked up at the second-floor balcony, where people were sitting at tables, drinking and chatting. Well, yelling at each other, with all the loud music trying to drown them out. 

Danny checked his watch as he leaned against the bar. “They’re not even supposed to be here for another half-hour. And Chin is going to warn us when they arrive. It’ll help you loosen up.” 

“Arresting drug dealers loosens me up.” 

Danny snorted. “Geez, you need a better way to relax.” 

Steve rolled his eyes. “Fine, let’s dance. I don’t promise that I’m any good at it, though.” 

“Nonsense. You could totally do the foxtrot to this song,” Danny joked. 

Steve pushed away from the bar. “Don’t make me regret agreeing to this.” 

Danny followed behind him, one hand holding onto Steve’s arm so they wouldn’t get separated. Steve pushed past the crowd of moving bodies to the middle of the dance floor. It was humid and hot there, and he was starting to sweat. 

Danny stepped in front of Steve, his hair already in a disarray and his blue eyes piercing in this lighting. Steve sucked in a breath as Danny pulled him close by the waist, the hard lines of their bodies seeming to match up perfectly. It was as if everyone and everything around them disappeared suddenly. It was just him and Danny. 

Danny grabbed Steve’s hands and placed them on his hips before reaching up to rest his forearms on Steve’s shoulders and interlock his fingers behind Steve’s neck. Steve’s skin prickled where Danny’s hands touched him. Danny started to move, forcing Steve to move with him. 

Steve could feel every movement, could feel every time Danny’s hips pushed against his. It was driving him crazy to be this close, to have the option to just lean down and kiss Danny if he wanted to. And he did want to. He couldn’t, though. He wouldn’t risk losing Danny because he made a stupid mistake. 

“Hey, you doing alright?” Danny asked, almost too softly for Steve to hear. 

Steve cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He was, in fact, far from fine. It was taking all his self-control to keep his grip on Danny’s hips loose. He wanted to pull Danny impossibly closer, to know what it felt like to not know where you ended and someone else started. 

Danny was searching Steve’s face intently, almost intimately, and Steve found he couldn’t tear his eyes off of Danny. He felt his fingers inadvertently digging into Danny’s body, his thumbs brushing up against Danny’s hip bones. Then Chin’s voice broke through from their mics, startling them both. Steve let go of Danny and took a few steps back on trembling legs, almost bumping into a group of dancing girls behind him. 

“Hey, guys,” Chin said. “Our targets are here, heading inside now through the front door.” 

“Thanks, Chin,” Steve responded, voice hoarse. He noticed that Danny hadn’t taken his eyes off him yet. “Come on, Danny, we should-”

“We should talk later.” Danny’s face was serious and his voice flat. It struck a chord of fear in Steve’s heart. 

“Uh, yeah, sure. But for now, we need to-” 

“-go catch some drug dealers. Yeah, let’s go.” 

* * * * 

1\. 

‘Talk later’ ended up meaning three days later, and it was the slowest three days of Steve’s life. 

He’d be driving with Danny in his car or sitting around with Danny while working or lying in bed at night alone, all the while wondering when Danny would confront him. He had to know Steve had wound up head-over-heels in love with him. Steve had finally had to admit it to himself after the night at the club. It was impossible to avoid it any longer. But Danny didn’t bring up anything out of the ordinary in their day-to-day conversations. 

It was agonizing, really. But at the same time Steve was hoping Danny had forgotten about what he’d said in the club, so Steve didn’t bring it up. 

Then the power in Danny’s apartment had gone down in a blackout and wasn’t scheduled to come back on until four hours later as the city fixed a downed power line. He told Steve that if it was just him, he’d wait it out- and sweat it out in the stifling heat- but he had Grace for the weekend. 

“I hate to ask,” Danny said over the phone, “but could me and Grace stay over at your place for the night?” 

“Of course,” Steve replied. “Honestly, I would’ve expected you to just come over without even asking.” 

“I’m trying to be considerate here.” Danny laughed a bit, making Steve smile. “We’ll be over in a few.” 

“Alright, see you then.” Steve hung up and leaned back against his kitchen counter, arms crossed. He was nervous, honestly, to have Danny coming over. Sure, it wasn’t like they’d be all alone, but then again they rarely ever were. Even riding in the car together, their work rode along like a third passenger. Maybe it would be for the best if Steve kept his feelings to himself until they faded away. If they ever did. 

Steve almost missed the knocking on his front door, and he realized he’d been standing in the kitchen for a good ten minutes, thinking to himself. He straightened up and walked to the door, opening it. Danny and Grace were on the other side, Danny holding both of their overnight bags, and Grace already dressed in her pajamas. Danny was still fully dressed, tie and all. 

“Hey,” Steve said with a small smile. He stepped back away from the doorway. “Come on in.” 

Grace darted inside, and Danny followed after her, albeit slower. He set their bags on the floor and turned to Steve. 

“Thanks for letting us stay over,” Danny said sincerely. 

“It’s no problem. You know you’re welcome over anytime.” Steve turned to Grace as he closed the door. “Hey, Gracie, you want some hot cocoa before bed?” 

Grace nodded eagerly. “Yes, please.” 

“Great, I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a second, alright?” Steve watched her leave the room before returning his attention back to Danny. “Sometimes I’m amazed you helped raise such a nice kid.” He crooked a grin at Danny, who replied with a fake laugh. 

“I’m a good dad, you know.” 

“I know you are. You’re amazing with her.” 

Steve and Danny stood there for a few moments before Steve figured he should say something to break the silence. 

“I should go put some water on for the hot cocoa,” Steve said. 

“Yeah, of course. I’ll help. And by ‘help’ I mean stand in the kitchen watching you do all the work.” 

“You sure do a lot of ‘helping’ on a regular basis, then.” Steve started towards the kitchen with Danny in tow. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be nice to your guests?” 

“I’m being nice to Grace,” Steve said as he set to putting a kettle of water on the stove to boil. “Isn’t that right?” he directed towards Grace, who was sitting at the kitchen table. 

Grace nodded. Steve let out a laugh as he turned on his dad’s old radio. He’d found it in the garage a couple days ago and decided to put it on the kitchen counter so he could listen to music while he made his morning coffee. Most of the channels had some amount of static to them, but it wasn’t terrible. 

“You’re gonna take _his_ side?” Danny asked with fake incredulousness. “I thought we had each other’s backs, Gracie.” 

Grace let out a little chuckle. “Uncle Steve’s the one making me cocoa.” 

Danny placed a hand on his heart, looking betrayed. “All it takes to win your love is cocoa?” 

Steve chuckled as he poured hot water and cocoa mix into a mug. He set the mug down in front of Grace, then sat down at the table. Danny joined them, and they talked about Grace’s school, her dancing, and little things that seemed so big all the same. The soft jazz playing through the radio accompanied by their conversation put Steve at ease. He felt like they were a family, and that was one feeling he didn’t push down. 

Eventually, Danny looked at the clock and groaned. “Eleven already? Grace, don’t tell your mom I let you stay up this late, alright? Now, let’s get you to bed.” He stood up just as his phone started to ring. He looked at it and sighed. “It’s the power company. Steve, do you mind taking Gracie upstairs to get ready for bed while I take this call?” 

“Yeah, no problem.” Steve stood up and scooped Grace into his arms just as she let out a big yawn. “Come on, let’s get your teeth brushed then you can go to sleep.” He grabbed her bag from beside the front door before climbing up the stairs to one of the spare bedrooms. He could hear Danny talking on the phone downstairs but couldn’t make out what he was saying. 

Steve put Grace down on the ground and her bag down on the bed. He rifled through it until he found her toothbrush and toothpaste. He handed both to her. 

“Go brush your teeth real quick in the bathroom across the hall, okay?” Steve said as he pulled back the covers on the bed. 

Grace disappeared from the room and came back a couple minutes later, looking even sleepier. Steve took her toothbrush and toothpaste from her to put it back in her bag before moving the bag to the floor. He picked Grace up and placed her into bed, pulling the covers over her. He crouched down next to the bed. 

“You good?” he asked. “Need anything?” 

“No, I’m good,” Grace said around another yawn, her eyes flickering closed. 

Steve brushed some of her hair back from her forehead. “Okay. Just yell if you need anything. Goodnight, sweetie.” 

“Goodnight, Uncle Steve,” Grace said, her eyes still closed. “Love you.” 

Steve had to take a moment to register that and regain his breath. “I… love you, too, Gracie.” But she was already fast asleep. 

Steve stood up and turned around, only to be met with the sight of Danny leaning against the doorway. He was staring at Steve with soft affection. Steve’s heart picked up its pace and for a moment he lost the ability to speak. 

He moved closer to Danny to whisper to him so he wouldn’t wake Grace up. “Let’s go back downstairs.” 

Danny nodded in agreement, moving away from the doorway to head downstairs. Steve followed after him. Danny stopped in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. 

“What did the power company say?” Steve asked, heart still pounding. 

“They’ve almost got the power back on. Said it’d be another hour or so.” Danny looked down at the floor so that Steve couldn’t see his expression. “You’re good with her. With Grace. She really likes you. Actually, she loves you, apparently.” 

“Are you okay with…?” Steve trailed off as Danny looked up at him with a blinding smile. 

“’Okay’? I’m ecstatic. To know that Gracie loves you means that I’m- I-” Danny’s words stumbled to a stop, and his face became serious all at once. The only sound was the radio playing softly. 

“Danny? It means what?” 

“You know how I told you we should talk when we were in that club?” Danny sounded hesitant now, instantly making Steve nervous. 

“Yeah, I remember. What did you want to talk about?” 

“We’ve known each other for a while, right? We _know_ each other. And lately-” 

“You know,” Steve stated flatly, and Danny stopped talking just to look at Steve. Steve gripped the top of the chair closest to him. “You’ve always been able to read me so well. I shouldn’t have thought I could hide my feelings from you.” 

Danny silently mouthed a couple words as if trying them on for size, then spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper. “Your feelings…” 

Steve’s heart skidded to a halt and his stomach dropped at the look of confusion on Danny’s face. Shit, he’d read the whole situation wrong. It was too late to take the words back now, though, so Steve kept talking, even though it was painful. 

“I’ve had feelings for you for a while, Danny,” Steve said hoarsely. “We’ve always seemed like such a good fit, and I thought that maybe you might have liked me, too. But I was clearly wrong, and I’m sorry for even bringing this up. I just can’t imagine my life without you; you’re such a huge part of it. God, I’m an idiot.” 

Danny stared at Steve for so long, Steve thought he’d accidentally broken the man. Steve took a step forward just to check on Danny, when Danny finally spoke. 

“Seriously?” Danny said, but there wasn’t any hint of malice in his voice, just exasperation. “Did you seriously just steal my moment, Steve?” 

Steve stopped in his tracks, confused. “What are you talking about, Danny?” 

“ _I_ was the one who was supposed to be confessing my feelings, not you. I had a whole speech planned out and everything. I wanted to tell you after that night at the club, but I kept chickening out because I thought you didn’t see me in that way.” Danny took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. 

The two of them stood there for a long moment before Steve started to laugh, mostly in relief. Danny kept a serious expression on his face for a good two seconds before he began to laugh as well. 

Steve approached Danny, then reached past him to turn the radio up slightly. A slow jazz song was playing, one full of romance and love. 

Steve held his hand out to Danny. “May I have this dance?” 

Danny smiled up at Steve and took his hand. “Yes, you may.” 

Steve pulled Danny close to him and they swayed together leisurely, Danny’s head resting gently on Steve’s shoulder. Steve suddenly felt like he was holding the whole world in his arms. He wished that he could live in this moment forever. 

Danny suddenly lifted his head to look at Steve. “I think this is the point where you kiss me, babe.” 

Steve smiled. “As you wish.” He leaned down and caught Danny’s lips with his own, kissing him softly and gently. 

Danny smiled into the kiss, one hand coming up to hold Steve’s neck, his thumb brushing Steve’s jaw. He broke away after a few seconds, still smiling. 

“Just so you know, I’ll be giving you my whole ‘I’ve got feelings for you’ speech later,” Danny said. “I worked really hard on it.” 

“I look forward to it,” Steve said before kissing Danny again. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Links to other sites I'm on](http://linktr.ee/kpkl10) 
> 
> Feel free to chat with me or ask me things on any of the sites.


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